Nov. 30: certification

First off, the Missouri secretary of state's office must certify the official election results, including Amendment 2.

It won't take forever.

Maura Browning, spokeswoman for Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, said Wednesday morning that local election authorities like the Greene County clerk have two weeks to send their election results, dubbed "abstracts" in state law, to Jefferson City.

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Amy Powell, left, and Ann Siegel, right, react to a win for Amendment 2 at the New Approach Missouri watch party at Riad in downtown Springfield on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Dean Curtis/Special to the News-Leader

Advocates for Amendment 2 celebrate after Chip Sheppard, board member of New Approach Missouri, declares them a winner during a watch party at Riad in downtown Springfield on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Dean Curtis/Special to the News-Leader

Advocates for Amendment 2 celebrate after Chip Sheppard, board member of New Approach Missouri, declares them a winner during a watch party at Riad in downtown Springfield on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Dean Curtis/Special to the News-Leader

Advocates for Amendment 2 celebrate after Chip Sheppard, board member of New Approach Missouri, declares them a winner during a watch party Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018 at Riad in downtown Springfield. Dean Curtis/Special to the News-Leader

Chip Sheppard, on the board of directors of New Approach Missouri, reads an update of encouraging news about Amendment 2 at the watch party at Riad in downtown Springfield on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Dean Curtis/Special to the News-Leader

Dec. 6: Amendment 2 takes effect

Browning said that Amendment 2 "technically" goes into effect 30 days from the date of the election. That's Thursday, Dec. 6.

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Even Missouri activists who have been interested in medical marijuana for years say that in the days following the election, you won't be able to consult your doctor and immediately get marijuana treatment for ailments like cancer or PTSD.

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Advocates for Amendment 2 celebrate after Chip Sheppard, board member of New Approach Missouri, declares them a winner during a watch party Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018 at Riad in downtown Springfield.(Photo: Dean Curtis/Special to the News-Leader)

But, according to a key official with the group that backed Amendment 2, patients will be protected when the amendment takes effect on Dec. 6.

Dan Viets is a Columbia-based attorney who is president of New Approach Missouri and a longtime NORML activist.

He cautioned that "prescription" is not really an accurate term for the document that gives patients legal protection to use marijuana under Amendment 2.

"'Certification' is the correct term," Viets said. Doctors will provide patients with a document allowing marijuana use if the patient has been diagnosed with one or more of a list of diseases listed in the amendment. Patients can also get a marijuana certification to treat another "chronic, debilitating or other medical condition" that's not on the list if the doctor believes it's appropriate, Viets said.

"On Dec. 6, if a patient has such a document, that patient is protected in terms of possession or use of cannabis," Viets said.

June 6: License applications available

The amendment provides for a number of new state government functions: Prospective patients and primary caregivers will need to apply for state identification for medical marijuana.

Growers, manufacturers and sellers of marijuana products will need to apply for separate licenses.

Amendment 2 also taxes marijuana sales to patients at 4 percent. Proceeds would fund veterans health care. The state will need to administer those things, along with protocols for home growing.

Patients will be allowed to grow up to six cannabis plants; caretakers, up to 18.

"We’ve intentionally given (state government) what should be plenty of time for what needs to be done," Viets said, referring to the way Amendment 2 was written.

The amendment gives the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services a 180-day deadline, falling approximately on June 6, to make license applications available to the public, Viets said.

July 6: Accepting applications

Around July 6, Viets said, the state must be ready to accept license applications, and there's another deadline for the state to inform applicants whether they get a license or an explanation for why they don't.

"With all of these things, it will be the latter half of (2019) before anyone is licensed," Viets said.

That includes licenses for patients, along with commercial cultivators, processors, testing facilities and dispensaries, he said.

The amendment "gives DHSS some discretion for how to do these things, but requires them to get them done and not just put them off, as has happened in some states," Viets said. Arkansas and Oklahoma have moved slowly to implement medical marijuana laws; Nevada has been quicker, he said.

Viets said he is confident that Gov. Mike Parson's administration will execute the amendment in a timely manner.

Because part of the amendment's 4-percent tax on marijuana sales helps fund licensing and other administrative procedures, Viets does not believe the legislature — which decides how the executive branch should spend money — will have much of an effect on implementing Amendment 2.

The News-Leader is seeking comment about implementing Amendment 2 from Gov. Mike Parson's administration and from Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem Elijah Haahr.

FILE - In this Sept. 20, 2018, file photo, an employee at a medical marijuana cultivator works on topping a marijuana plant, in Eastlake, Ohio. Voters in Missouri have three competing proposals on the ballot dealing with medical marijuana in the November election. Two would amend the Missouri Constitution; the other would simply change state law. (AP Photo/David Dermer, File)(Photo: David Dermer, AP)